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This case, investigated by Thames Valley Police, involved two companies operating alongside each other under the control of Simon John BARNES. Surrey Vehicle Leasing was formed in September 1997 and dealt in low value second-hand vehicles. By December 1997 the company was experiencing financial difficulty and as a result Credit Solutions was formed. Credit Solutions was run from the same offices as Surrey Vehicle Leasing and fronted by a colleague of BARNES using a false name.
Credit Solutions placed advertisements in national tabloid newspapers. These advertisements were aimed at individuals who had fallen into difficulty with hire purchase payments on vehicles. People who responded to the adverts were told that Credit Solutions would either take the vehicle and settle the outstanding finance or that the outstanding finance would be settled if they surrendered their vehicle and hired a cheaper vehicle.
People who took up the offer were passed to Surrey Vehicle Leasing and their vehicles were then sold by Surrey Vehicle Leasing or hired to other customers. In no case was settlement ever made to a finance company leaving these customers responsible for the original debt. Surrey Vehicle Leasing would later claim they had paid Credit Solutions for the vehicles.
Credit Solutions did not have a trading address, just a telephone number which related to BARNES’ home address, and which BARNES claimed was used by the person running Credit Solutions without his knowledge. False names were used by all parties concerned in this enterprise to confuse customers and lay the blame elsewhere.
Though only 15 individual cases were pursued in the investigation there was potential for a much more significant number of victims. The only reason this did not occur was that Surrey Vehicle Leasing/ Credit Solutions were ill-equipped to deal with the volume of responses the advertisements generated. Losses amounted to approximately £50,000 for individuals, plus £40,000 in unpaid advertising costs.
When BARNES stood trial at Reading Crown Court he tried to off-load the blame to his associate who ran Credit Solutions and sought to create the impression the two companies were not connected. He was convicted on 12 of 15 counts and was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
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